Culture, travel, fashion and culinary delights: the Kosmos pages of Lufthansa Magazin bring you interesting and useful tidbits from around the world

Secret island happiness

It doesn’t always have to be Mallorca – or Ibiza, Crete or Corsica for that matter, either. There are thousands of other islands in the Mediterranean alone. Our expert knows a few wonderful, lesser-known spots.

Gavdos, Greece

The 1970s are still going strong: Visitors to Gavdos, Europe’s southernmost island, still sleep on the beach as in the wildest hippy days. Some stay for weeks or even months on Gavdos.

Comino, Malta

Caves, shipwrecks, tunnels – Comino, Malta’s small neighbor, has plenty to offer divers. For snorkelers, there’s the popular blue lagoon to explore. Stay on after the day trippers have gone home and you have the three-and-a-half square kilometers of island almost all to yourself.

Procida, Italy

With about 10 500 inhabitants on about four square kilometers, no other Mediterranean island is as densely populated as Procida. Best of all, it’s still worth making the trip! While its sister, Ischia, attracts hordes of tourists, Procida is still very much the real Italy.

The old town is a World Heritage Site. The ocean laps gently against the wharf while behind you, the Andes tower several thousand meters into the sky. Valparaíso, Chile, is the perfect destination for people who insist on having it all.

The perfect day

Kitesurfing in the morning, a jog up 1127-meter Grouse Mountain in the afternoon, drinks and sushi in the evening on hip Commercial Drive: That’s what awaits you in Vancouver, Canada.

Seven Peaks

Forget the seven hills of Rome – it’s time for a trip to Seoul! Koreans are avid hikers and their favorite peak is 836-meter Bukhansan. When you’re ready for a swim, head out toward the airport and sandy white Eurwangni beach close by.

Culture clash

So you think if you’ve seen one pair, you’ve seen them all? Wrong! Chopsticks vary greatly from (Asian) country to country – in their design and the way they are used.

forest fruit

Each year, some 25 million trees are felled to produce chopsticks in ­China alone. A single tree provides 4000 chopsticks, which are generally 27 centimeters long – longer than elsewhere in Asia.

Skewering is a no no

Japanese chopsticks are shorter and more delicate. Ideally, they measure one-and-a-half timesthe distance between thumb and first finger. Whatever you do, don’t skewer your food or stand your chopsticks upright in the rice. The latter is only done at memorial services.

Spooning is better

In China and Japan, it’s perfectly acceptable to raise your bowl to your lips and shovel rice into your mouth with chopsticks. In Korea, it’s con­sidered bad manners, so the bowl stays on the table and everybody uses a spoon.

Happy Anniversary!

The Hamburger Kunsthalle art museum, which holds works from a good eight centuries (such as Caspar Friedrich’s “Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog”, pictured here) is celebrating its 150th birthday. A comprehensive program of events kicks off August 23.

Soul goddess

Lauryn Hill, U.S. rapper and former frontwoman of the hip-hop group Fugees, only produced a single album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. That was 21 years ago, but it’s regarded as a milestone of neo-soul. This month, the singer is performing in Germany: August 27 in Cologne and August 29 in Berlin.